Unter Wasser

by Tara Menon, Simone Jakob (Translator)

Als Marissa mit sechs Jahren ihre Mutter verliert, beschließt ihr Vater, ein Meeresbiologe, die Forschungsarbeit seiner Frau fortzuführen. Vater und Tochter gehen nach Thailand. Dort trifft sie Arielle, und eine geradezu märchenhafte Freundschaft entsteht. Unter der Woche leben die Mädchen in dem Resort von Arielles Eltern; an den Wochenenden verbringen sie ihre Zeit mit Marissas Vater auf einer nahe gelegenen Insel. Gemeinsam entdecken die Mädchen die zerbrechlichen Wunder der Riffe, Wälder und Strände. Gemeinsam lernen sie, in die Tiefe zu tauchen und minutenlang den Atem anzuhalten. Sie bewegen sich ebenso mühelos im Wasser wie die Mantarochen, die sie mit Namen kennen. Gemeinsam lernen sie, aus Gefahren herauszuschwimmen. Doch dann kommt eine riesige Welle, der Arielle nicht entkommen kann. Jahre später ist Marissa zurück in New York, orientierungslos und verfolgt von der Erinnerung an ihre Freundin, erneut bedroht durch eine Naturkatastrophe. Als im Laufe zweier schicksalhafter Tage die Vergangenheit zurückkehrt, entdeckt sie, wie sie sich in einer unsicheren Welt behaupten kann.

Genres: Fiction, Literary Fiction, Historical Fiction, Contemporary, Friendship, Grief, Mental Health

Kindle Edition

Expected publication March 17, 2026

Reviews

[Tala🦈 (mrs.skywalker.reads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

bardzo cicha, ale baaardzo mocna lektura

Menon pisze o stracie tak, jak się o niej myśli – powracająco, nielinearnie, z każdej strony naraz. ale to nie tylko historia straty

to też o tym, jak żyje się dalej, kiedy nic już nie jest takie samo. o żałobie, która nie mija, i o przyjaźni, której nikt nie nauczył nas opłakiwać („wciąż ci źle? To była TYLKO jakaś koleżanka, nie wypada jej opłakiwać tyle czasu”), o tym, że przyjaźń może być TĄ relacją w życiu

o naturze, wobec której autorka ma ogromny respekt – cudownie opisuje jej piękno, ale też nie romantyzuje jej, nie robi z niej metafory — to siła, która rządzi światem i nami, daje życie, ale i odbiera

o tsunami, huraganie, żywiole, martwych, pięknych, złożonych mantach, śmieciach na plaży i Nowym Jorku, który w końcu też tonie, ale też o wdzięczności i ciągłej miłości do tego, co wokół nas, nawet po katastrofie

o tym, jak piękno i przemoc mogą istnieć obok siebie

[lys · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have never once read a novel twice before it’s even published, but I love this book so much that I cannot even put it into words. Took my breath away on the first read, and somehow did even more so on the second. Spectacular, wonderful, genius, etc. etc.

[Julia - my.endless.library · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, this book grabbed my attention from the very first page! The prologue is absolutely crazy but amazing at the same time. The story that follows is beautiful and definitely worth the read.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

[Vmndetta ᛑᛗᛛ · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5.

this book tells a story about friendship between Marissa and Arielle. what i enjoyed the most about this book was their friendship in Thailand. the setting was something new for me, reading about the beach and creatures like manta rays and turtles felt like a breath of fresh air for me.

however, i didn't like the writing. sometimes it overexplained things to the point i felt like i was reading the news, because literally there's too many numbers, like years, death tolls, and stuff like that. this book also keeps mentioning many things/examples. i thought it would get better, but ....

later, i realized that this book was very repetitive. i kept finding paragraphs that started with the same pattern, for example always using the word 'when' at the beginning every time Marissa talked about flashbacks with Arielle in Thailand. i could just ignore it, i really could. but there were too many, to the point i kept noticing it and it distracted me. sometimes there were also just short, unimportant scenes before moving on. too many scene breaks for very short scenes.

i really wanted to love this book. but it looks like the universe didn't let me, i guess ....

[Pauline · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story told in two different times lines about Marissa who is living with the devastating loss of her best friend Arielle.
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster UK my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

[miller]

ich hab das gefühl die englische originalfassung hätte mir sprachlich besser gefallen, war manchmal etwas holprig und irgendwie zu gestochen, aber die geschichte hat mich sehr berührt und ich bin großer fan davon trauer verlust etc in freundschaftsdynamiken zu erörtern

[Andreia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I nicked a proof of this book out of a friend's hand at a Five Guys in Germany. I read the first paragraph and I knew. Serendipity. There were so many little things about this book that tied in with my life (past and present). I even remember listening to a song while reading it and one of the lyrics singing in parallel to the words on the page. "When I close my eyes". There is something so special about this novel. It's not just the writing, the kind of writing that makes you taste and feel and hear and see. It's not just the way it feels like you're reaching into someone's most precious and darkest memories. It's the way it sucks you in like riptide. It forces you to hold your breath as if you're under water. Your eyes sting, you can taste the salt on your tongue. It is both a wonder and petrifying. I loved every sentence, every word and only wish there were more of them.

[Jared · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible. Exquisite. Sublime.

A stunning story of the underwater world that brought two young women into a deep, intimate friendship. Described in breathtakingly sparse prose, Menon masterfully captures the beauty of the ocean and its ambivalence to human life.

Like the tide crashing onto the shore, grief and loss erode the sand away from beneath our feet and soon we (just as Marissa does) find ourselves stranded within the cataclysm of hurricanes and tsunamis. Achingly heartbreaking, asides about red-eared slider turtles or chili’s or paint colors (and their myriad names) or manta rays and the use of their gills (known to harbor heavy metals) in Chinese traditional medicine for pregnancy are, like currents, through lines that, seemingly out of place at first, connect one point of the story to another with practiced, graceful skill.

I could not put this book this down, I kept thinking about getting back to the story throughout the three days I was reading. I am almost certainly going to reread this at some point. It’s a quick but engrossing novel that simply doesn’t let the reader go.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful and haunting little book


⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ I would recommend this book to just about anyone. This book offers some combination of enthralling plot, good writing, and lasting imagery, emotional impact and/or educational value.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ I enjoyed this book and would recommend this book to anyone with interest in the topic matter or genre.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ I recognized something of value in this book, and would maybe recommend it to select people, but ultimately it missed the mark for me.

⭐️ ⭐️ I finished this, but would not recommend it.

⭐️ DNF

[Sophia Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Under Water by Tera Menon is a deeply emotional and evocative novel that explores love, pain, and the turbulent journey of healing after loss. The story centers on a woman who has suffered a profound heartbreak and chooses to disappear from her familiar life in an effort to start over. What unfolds is not just a physical relocation, but an emotional plunge into vulnerability, grief, and the search for meaning in the quietest and most unexpected places. Menon’s prose beautifully captures the tension between the desire to escape and the quiet strength it takes to face one’s own emotions.

What makes this book particularly compelling is how it portrays the inner life of someone trying to rebuild after heartbreak. The protagonist’s experience feels raw and unfiltered — her doubts, fears, and moments of clarity are all drawn with sensitivity and nuance. Menon doesn’t rush her character’s transformation; instead, she allows the emotions to simmer and unfold naturally, giving readers space to feel alongside the narrator. There’s a meditative quality to the storytelling that mirrors the ebb and flow of the sea — comforting, reflective, and persistently honest.

Under Water is more than a romance or a story of heartache — it’s a gentle exploration of resilience, acceptance, and the beauty that can emerge from life’s most difficult moments.

[Julia Fiedler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Devastating, beautiful depiction of the kind of grief that follows you forever. The kind that no one will ever understand unless they experienced it right next to you. Totally couldn’t put it down.

[Lucy Ellis-Hardy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Under Water by Tara Menon is a relatively short novel at just over 200 pages, and I devoured it in two sittings.  Set across two timelines, the novel moves inexorably towards two devastating events. Menon recounts the protagonist’s life between Thailand and the USA, and her descriptive writing is outstanding.

The depictions of sea life, forests, and beaches are vivid and immersive, as are her observations of the extraordinary senses and behaviours of animals. Equally striking are the descriptions of birdlife and nature in Central Park, New York, and the way weather itself becomes a powerful presence throughout the book. I found myself absorbed, more attentive, and more appreciative of the natural world while reading.

The writing is both powerful and beautiful, and the irony of the protagonist’s copywriting job lingers hauntingly beneath the surface. Themes of deep friendship, grief, resilience, and the precariousness of life run through the novel, alongside the unsettling awareness that we never truly know when an ordinary day might be our last.

Under Water builds towards a devastating crescendo. It is a hauntingly beautiful novel about trauma and grief and about how a person is never quite the same after either.
I received a free advance review copy from NetGalley and the publisher, and this is my honest review.i wholeheartedly recommend it.

[Marianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Under Water is the tale of a once in a lifetime platonic love. The language is lyrical, succinct, and evocative, placing the reader in the alternating environments of warm Thai beaches, or a bench in Central Park. You can practically feel the sand beneath your feet, or listen to the big city soundtrack that is a calamitous blend of nature and humanity. Despite the exquisite writing, I couldn’t help but feel that something was lacking. Consequently, I couldn’t fully immerse myself in its world.

The story centers on the friendship of Marissa and Arielle, two teenagers coming of age in 2004 Thailand. It is written with a dual timeline that also includes (present tense) 2012 NYC. Arielle’s story ends in Thailand, while Marissa’s continues. As I was reading, I never felt that Marissa’s character was fully fleshed out. She appears somewhat ghostlike and lives a meandering existence. I didn’t feel connected to either her, or Arielle. The depictions of the tsunami and its aftermath were well done, but because of the tenuous connection with the characters, at the end of the book I felt apathy more than anything else.

Thank you to Riverhead and NetGalley for the eARC.

[abi slade · Rating 4 out of 5]

4⭐️

pros ✅
- reminiscent of ‘vicky angel’ (but for adults)
- a brilliant example of a book where in the present, not a lot is happening, but you’re engulfed in marissa and her senses and memories
- devastation and natural disasters are always looming, but when they finally happen it still feels like a horrifying shock
- some really poetic bits of prose: “She wanted the sun and the sky to express remorse on behalf of the ocean. But the earth, callously indifferent, refused to mourn with us.”
- it’s rare you get a book that focuses on a totally platonic female friendship, and celebrates the intensity and importance of love between friends without it every broaching something romantic
- had high expectations (this was edited by the same person who edited ‘a little life’) and these expectations were definitely met

cons ❌
- i wanted it to be longer: i wanted to see more of arielle and marissa’s friendship, i wanted more of arielle’s relationship with her parents

[Mikaela · Rating 3 out of 5]

pros: excellent descriptions of coral reefs and other such undersea beauties, made me want to learn how to dive... tons of fun facts about marine biology, etymology, literature, etc., made me highlight a bunch of stuff to wikipedia later.... visceral depiction of post-tsunami devastation and death, never read anything like it, made me cry quite a bit

cons: i am so tired of stories about mentally ill women wandering nyc and having sex with strange men!!! no matter how hard i try, they sneak in to everything i read!! ergo could've done without the second timeline entirely. also, and this feels very cold to admit, i was not compelled by the devastating loss at the book's core... arielle was soooo #manicpixieperfect and i don't think readers were invited "into" the friendship so much as we were repeatedly hit over the head with how ~special~ it was.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Such a sad journey of recovery is undertaken by a survivor of the Thailand tsunami in 2004 whose best friend was lost to the storm. The novel recounts the 8 years after that are filled with the struggle to understand, to not feel guilt, to try to refocus her life without her dearest friend. Throughout this period are inserts describing the girls’ lives together living on an island with researchers before the tsunami. Especially beautiful were the sections on seeing sea life during dives.

The book centers on the friendship between the girls and how difficult it was for one to go on without the other. I do wish a bit more time was spent on developing backstories on several characters. I also found the lack of noticeable separation between the 2 timelines was confusing to me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Riverhead Books for the ARC to read and review.

[kearstin · Rating 4 out of 5]

An utterly heartbreaking and gorgeous book depicting the complexities of grief.

This book is stunning. As devastating as the premise is, the author keeps a good balance between the heaviness trauma and lighthearted memories. The past and present timelines were beautifully intertwined with one another. I could feel my heart break little by little with each passing chapter as I got closer to the end of the book. I was completely enamored by the writing and the story the author created.

This was an easy four star read. I’m excited to see the final version of this book and will absolutely be adding it to my library. Highly recommend.

A big thank you to Riverhead and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

[Agatha Isabel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I knew nothing about this book when I picked it up and I could not put this book down until I was finished. As a lover of the ocean and a New Yorker I was devoured by the duality, the timelines, her nightmares and flashbacks.

I was engulfed by the beautiful details of the ocean as much as I was I was taken fully into Marissa’s love and grief. I saw, felt, tasted every detail of her two days.

A lump formed in my throat as it did in hers. A beautiful novel and an early candidate for one of my favorites of 2026.

Thanks to Bel Canto Books with trusting me with this arc from and for the shop.

[Allyn Oliver · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic! This wasn’t like anything I think I’ve ever read before. We are walking through New York City with our main character Marissa, on the day that Hurricane Sandy hits, as she remembers another horrific day eight years earlier. That’s all you need to know…

This is beautifully written and so well done! The author does a great job pulling you in and immersing you into Marissa’s childhood as she grows up with her best friend, Arielle, in Thailand. There were so many elements of this book that I loved and will keep an eye out for this author going forward!

Look for this new release on March 17, 2026.

Thank you to NetGalley and Riverhead books for this ARC.

[Tom Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

A powerful and moving debut – Under Water by Tara Menon begins with a lyrical tone that continues until the last page. Perhaps it's a literary book like this that truly sticks with me these days, it mixes great prose with a type of storytelling that always has an impending dread, a building up of sorts that promises a cathartic or critical moment that keeps the reader turning. With Under Water, this is the concurrent narratives of a protagonist who reflects on the tragic moment of the Boxing Day tsunami as the impending damage of Hurricane Sandy hangs over her new life in New York. There are many moments of reflection and education that sticked with me, especially of nature. A special book.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to Netgalley and Riverhead Books for this advance reader copy in exchange for a review.
I never thought I would want to revist this historical event having seared it into my soul many years ago, but I could not put this book down. I felt so connected to the main characters that I was turning page after page.
Its a dual storyline - before and many years later. You already know what happens so you can just relax and let the story wash over you.
Really a gorgeous story - I loved it.
4.5

[Patricia Baker]

loved this book. It took me a minute to figure out that Arielle, the best friend of Marissa, died in the 2004 Thailand tsunami. the story flips from 2004 and 2012, the year hurricane Sandy causes heavy damage to the United States. Marissa and Arielle met in Thailand where Arielle lived and Marissa and her dad, Isaiah, came to recover from the death of Marissa's mom, wife of Isaiah. this time period introduces her to Rosie, Matthew, and Anurak who run a research facility for sea creatures including the manta rays. loved the color description of the water, sky and water creatures. great book.

[Audrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a beautifully written book about the power of friendships, the beauty of nature, the ever present grief and survivor's guilt. Told between two timelines between two devastating natural disasters, the Tsunami of 2004 and Hurricane Sandy in 2012, Marissa is haunted by the loss her best friend Arielle. Snapshots of their girlhood in Phuket, Thailand, has them communing with nature as they swim through the oceans and mangroves. This is one unforgettable read.

I received an arc from the publisher but all opinions are my own.

[Joanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was rather surprised at how well written this book was as it is a debut work. The themes are friendship and grief of two young friends. The story is split between life before the 2004 tsunami and life after. Although the tsunami was a massive catastrophe it takes up so little space in the book which I thought was very well done. The focus is on the loss and how people try to carry on living with guilt and pain. Well structured with chapters alternating between then and now. The tragedy of the events is very well written and the connections with the characters are excellent.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this novel.

I really loved reading this. I happened to read it immediately after another novel which also centres a tsnumani (Everything to the Sea), and this one struck me as very different and more quietly impactful. It focuses on one character, Marissa, jumping between two time periods - the days before/after the tsunami, and 8 years later. It is an absolutely beautiful and haunting novel, with real emotional depth and complexity. I will definitely recommend it to others.

[Lydia Hephzibah · Rating 4 out of 5]

4

setting: new York and Thailand
rep: South Asian protagonist and author

From the first page I knew I'd enjoy this; Menon's writing is lyrical and evocative and her descriptions - especially from the chapters set in Thailand - are so strong. Not a lot actually going on in this story, as it's mostly the protagonist's recollection of the tsunami that hit Thailand and the buildup of Hurricane Sandy; I did find myself wanting a bit more, but the writing was beautiful.

[Obscura · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5 ⭐️. A haunting and emotional story about surviving the unthinkable, living with the weight of grief, and slowly learning how to move forward when the past refuses to let go.

Will be posting the full review on release day.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A stunning novel. I loved this as much as I loved Ruth Ozeki's A Tale for The Time Being. Simple, beautiful, tragic, powerful,hopeful, all at once. Just like the ocean.
thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

[Walker Iversen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A graceful, sensually rich, emotionally stirring debut.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a start to 2026.. wow, absolutely stunning